The announcement made by CooperSurgical earlier this month to abandon its plan to acquire the Reproductive Health division of Cook Medical marks a key moment within the M&A activity timeline of the assisted reproductive technology (ART) devices market. As CooperSurgical and Cook Medical have historically led the global ART devices market, this acquisition could have cemented CooperSurgical as the sole leading company of this market, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s latest report, “Assisted Reproductive Technology Devices Market Forecast to 2033,” the market for ART consumable devices is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%, resulting in a global market value exceeding $482 million in 2033.

The combination of rising public awareness of successfully achieving pregnancy via ART and increased access to fertility clinics globally have resulted in steadily increasing volumes of ART procedures performed year-over-year.

This market, which in part consists of single-use devices in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures, has historically experienced several M&A activities. These were mostly led by CooperSurgical, which has acquired several companies or divisions of companies, such as Research Instruments Ltd, The Pipette Company, and notably the Wallace product lines of Smiths Medical International, all in 2016. Two years later, CooperSurgical acquired The LifeGlobal Group, the result of which had solidified CooperSurgical as one of the leaders of this market.

Brian Hicks, Senior Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “CooperSurgical continues to grow its Fertility division in part from the continued acquisition of smaller IVF companies. However this recent one from Cook Medical has proven to be too challenging as an investigation launched by the US Federal Trade Commission and collaborating competition agencies in Australia and the UK have hindered their likelihood of any successful transaction.

“A successful acquisition of Cook Medical’s Reproductive Health division would have certainly propelled CooperSurgical market share. However, such dominance in the market may have been followed with increased pricing of the devices and dampened product innovation. Thus, the decision for CooperSurgical to abandon this acquisition following the investigation will enable both it and Cook Medical to continue to compete for the top spot through greater product innovation and competitive pricing.”